Coronation Street
Coronation Street ("Corrie", as it is known by its fans) is a UK produced soap opera that has been running on ITV in the UK since December 9th, 1960. The show is produced by Granada TV, the ITV affiliated network in Manchester. Corrie is the longest-running TV soap opera running currently in the UK (it recently celebrated its 10,000th episode in February of 2020), with its closest competitors, the BBC's EastEnders making its premiere in 1985, during Corrie's 25th year on the air; Yorkshire TV's Emmerdale (originally called Emmerdale Farm) premiering in 1972, twelve years after Corrie began; Channel 4's teen/young adult oriented Hollyoaks premiering in 1995 (during Corrie's 35th year); and Channel 4's more traditionally based soap, Brookside, running from 1982-2005. General Hospital, the longest-running soap opera in the US, as well as NBC's similarly themed, ''The Doctors'' would both premiere in April of 1963, three years after Corrie had premiered. While GH is still on the air to this day (it's the only ABC soap opera still on the air), The Doctors ended its run in 1982. Only the BBC 4 radio soap, The Archers has run for far longer (having been on the air at first, locally, since 1950, it went national in the UK a year later in 1951) than Corrie. The Archers is still on the air to this day. The series is created by the late Tony Warren and focuses on the lives and loves of the residents of the eponymous cobble-stoned street in the fictional Greater Manchester suburb of Weatherfield. Cast trivia Many talented people have come and gone on the series in its nearly 60 year history, but the only original cast member still playing his original role is William Roache, who has played Ken Barlow from day one, recently the character celebrated his 80th birthday on the series, having become the Elder Statesman of the Street. The second longest serving actor was Eileen Derbyshire who played Emily Nugent Bishop beginning in 1960 (she was introduced in the fourth episode in a non-speaking uncredited role where she watched over Ena Sharples while Mr. Swindley called the doctor) until she retired. Currently, Barbara Knox, who plays Rita Littlewood Fairclough Sullivan, serves as second longest serving actress, having made her initial guest appearance in 1964, as a former girlfriend of Dennis Tanner, and became a regular cast member in 1972, where she's been ever since. Some 43 years after he left the street, Philip Lowrie, who was an original cast member as indolent and layabout Dennis Tanner, came back, had a short-lived marriage to Rita, and then after they split up, he left for good. The Set up of the Street When the series began in 1960, most of the area's residents lived on the odd side of the street with the Glad Tidings Mission Hall and Elliston's Raincoat factory (with only a few residences on the even side, changed when the factory was torn down and the Mission Hall was done away with) on the other side of the street. The residences were bookended by the Pub on one end, and the Corner Shop at the other end. At 15 (where Coronation intersects with Viaduct Street) was the Corner Shop (presently owned by Dev Alahan); 13 was originally the home of Christine and May Hardman, but later had Stan and Hilda Ogden living there (currently residing there are the Websters, Kevin and Sally); 11 was the home of Arnold and Elsie Tanner (currently living there is Elsie's relation, Eileen Grimshaw and her son, Jason); 9 was originally the home of Ivan and Linda Cheveski (Linda was Elsie's daughter) but was owned by Jack and Vera Duckworth for many years until their deaths, currently living there is Tyrone Dobbs (who had been the Duckworths lodger); his girlfriend, Fiz Brown, her daughters, Hope and Ruby, and Tyrone's mouthy, acid-tongued, but well-meaning grandmother, Evelyn Plummer; Number 7 was where Harry Hewitt and his wife, Concepta, lived along with his daughter, Lucille and his son, Christopher) but, after they moved, the house later collapsed and was abandoned, the house was later rebuilt by Len and Rita Fairclough; 5 was where Esther Hayes lived for a long time, then it was occupied by Minnie Caldwell (until she moved away) then Bert and Ivy Tilsley (and her second husband, Don Brennan) took over and later on by the Battersby family, Les, Janice, Leanne and Toyah; Number 3 was the original Barlow home, when Ken's parents were alive; number 1 (where Ken Barlow lives presently, since he bought it) was the home of family friend, Albert Tatlock, who sold it to him for all the love he had for him (and infuriating his daughter, Beattie, in the process); at the corner of Coronation and Rosamund Streets was the area's local pub, The Rovers Return. Currently, there are other businesses and residences on the even side of the Street. Audrey's Hair Salon (owned by Audrey Roberts) is across from the Rovers; The Viaduct Bistro (once called Nick's Bistro) is located under the Viaduct, which was first owned by Nick Tilsley, and later by Robert Preston and now it's owned by Michelle Connor, but was later undercut by the scheming Ray Kelly); Clothing factory, UnderWorld, a factory which specializes in knickers; and has seen its own share of drama and fighting, is also nearby, keeping the tradition of a factory nearby (which was started with Ellison's Raincoat factory). Underworld was once owned by posh Mike Baldwin, whose very toffee-nosed ways tended to put the other working-class residents out of joint, but is now currently owned by Carla Connor (Alison King). The Kabin (a news agency, owned by Brian Packham and Cathy Matthews, ably assisted by Rita Sullivan as its long-time manageress) was located in the spot where the Glad Tidings Mission Hall had once been (it was destroyed in a tram crash, which destroyed Turner's Joinery {now the Viaduct Bistro} and severely damaged the Corner Shop); as well as the residence of Gail Platt and her large family. The Corner Shop was refurbished and rebuilt and the Kabin is doing business again as well. The families of Weatherfield The borough of Weatherfield, largely based on the real-life Greater Manchester community of Salford, is located not too far from Manchester itself, is well-known for its long-standing connection with textile manufacturing. A tradition which still exists today with the presence of Underworld. (Salford itself was well known for its textile manufacturing which adds to the realism) As is the case in all UK communities, the main center of community life is its pub, in Weatherfield's case, it is called The Rovers Return, located at the corner of Coronation Street and Rosamund Street, which, for many years, was owned by the fictional Newton and Ridley brewery. The Rovers (as it's popularly known) has been a free house since 1995, but Newton and Ridley continues to supply to the pub, due to its longstanding connections to the place. Besides the Rovers, there were other pubs, namely, The Farrier's Arms; The Flying Horse and The Laughing Donkey (whose quarrelsome landlady was played by Mollie Sugden of Are You Being Served? fame), for example. The community also had a supermarket called Bettabuy, which would later become Freshco, but doesn't play into the story these days, as no current characters work there. The longest-standing family in the community is the multi-generational Barlow family. When the series began, it was headed by Frank and Ida Barlow, a postal worker and a hotel kitchen worker, respectively, who had two sons, David and Kenneth. Kenneth, a Uni student (presumably the University of Manchester), had been accused by most of his neighbors and his own family (mainly his father) of becoming a complete snob due to where he was attending Uni. In one of the later stories, it would be Frank himself who would become a snob (and an even bigger one than what he accused Ken of being) when he won the Premium Bonds and left the Street for a better house in Bramhill, a tonier community in the Greater Manchester area, but not until he snubbed nearly everyone saying the street was nothing but bad enough to be demolished. This infuriated the locals, causing one vicious brawl in the Rovers. During said brawl, Martha Longhurst would die quietly in the snug of a heart attack. However, in later years, Ken would gain more of an appreciation of where he lived and would remain there most of his life. Although, he's always wanted to find better, Coronation Street, for all its good and bad, was home to him, and that eventually always kept him there. David, who began as an apprentice engineer, would eventually leave for London and become a professional football star. After a scandal, he would return to Weatherfield. He would later marry Irma Ogden, the daughter of comedic couple Stan and Hilda, and they would take over running of the Corner Shop until the family emigrated to Australia. However, sadly, David and his newborn son, Darren would be killed in a car accident. Irma wasn't killed, but she was severely injured. Currently, Ken heads the family which includes his adopted daughter, Tracy (Kate Ford), a serious and often wicked troublemaker; his recovering alcoholic son, Peter (Chris Gascoyne), and his grandchildren, Adam, Simon and Amy. He is the widower of Deirdre (the late Anne Kirkbride) and he also had a late daughter, Susan (Peter's twin sister and Adam's mother). He is currently in a relationship with hairdresser Claudia Colby (Rula Lenska), an occasional frenemy of Audrey Roberts. Also in the family tree is Daniel Osbourne, the product of a fling with hair dresser, Denise Osbourne. Daniel married a girl named Sinead Tinker and they had a child, a boy named Bertie. Sinead would later tragically die of Cancer, Daniel would later leave Weatherfield with his son to begin anew away from the memories, but he was convinced by his family to stay in Weatherfield. Daniel's mother in-law, Beth Tinker, offers him advice, as does Ken and the rest of the Barlows. Ken also had a older son named Lawrence Cunningham (Linus Roache, William's real-life son), from his first girlfriend, Susan, whom he disowned, because he had the nerve to condemn his own son for being gay. (The son, James, was played by James Roache, also William's son) James, however, was no better, as he was a very nasty person who had no qualms about making life miserable for his family. Other families over the years include the Platts; Grimshaws; Ogdens; Battersbys; McDonalds; Browns; Stapes; Duckworths; Tilsleys; Walkers (they were the original licensees of the local pub) and, arguably one of the most well known, the Tanners. Led by Elsie Tanner (Patricia Phoenix, who played the role from the beginning to 1984), a hard-working single mother, who had been separated (and later divorced) from her husband, Arnold (Frank Crawshaw) for over 15 years; she had two grown children, Dennis Tanner (Phil Lowrie), just seven weeks released from prison; and married daughter Linda Cheveski (Anne Cunningham). The thing with Elsie was she did NOT like kids playing in her back-end behind her house, and she was often known for ordering generations of kids off her property. The first kid she yelled at was Christine Farrar, after she knocked over her dustbin. Christine told her, "Come and make me, you silly old bag!", which infuriated Elsie. She's kept several balls kicked into her yard by kids. She's even lashed out at a few kids (especially after they insulted her by calling her an old bag), even going so far as to hit them at times (most notably Jason Pierce). She was one of the original "Get off my lawn" ladies! Her other trials were that of Dennis, who had an aversion to work (due to those seven months out of prison, for theft and the experience he had, plus his criminal record, wasn't the experience potential employers wanted); and Linda, who was having marital issues with her Polish husband. Her sharpest arch-rival, though, (not just of Elsie, but of the whole street as well) was one Ena Sharples (Violet Carson), a malicious old battle-axe who was the caretaker of the Glad Tidings Mission Hall, which was located across from the Corner Shop. Ena had a tendency to be rather judgmental towards everyone on the street, and would maliciously gossip about absolutely everything and everyone, invariably causing the street no end of trouble. She was often found in the Snug bar with her best friends and cronies, Martha Longhurst (Lynne Carol) and Minnie Caldwell (Margot Bryant), drinking Milk Stout and gossiping about everyone else in the street. Most everyone on the street, friend, foe, or even outsider, was fair game for Ena and her vicious gossip, some of which could be downright slanderous and hurtful, but, more often as not, had very little basis in reality. However, her main rival (and chief target of her maliciousness) was always Elsie. It was evident from the start that Ena had never had any liking for Elsie, due to her loose living, her many (real and imagined) affairs with other men, which was the reason that Arnold had left her during the war years, as well as just for sheer spite. She never liked the fact that Elsie was a red-head, and that she enjoyed life. Her aim was to try to get Elsie out of the Street once and for all. In January 1965, Ena was hell-bent to evict Elsie and Dennis out of their home (which she owned) to turn it into another vestry for the mission as she was fearing that she would be put out of her vestry at Glad Tidings. As such, she initiated eviction proceedings which erupted into a huge row which began in the Rovers, and would spill out into the street. The row was so vicious that it gained the attention of the whole street as well as drowning out the local Salvation Army band playing nearby. This was one of the first of what would be many rows in the street that would occur over the years. Elsie and Ena exchanged some very vicious names (with Elsie calling her a "bandy-legged old bat" and "to wind your neck in, y' ol' bat, you!") while Ena called Elsie a slapper, among other vicious insults. However, after breaking Elsie's window with her handbag, the Head of the Committee, Leonard Swindley (Arthur Lowe), (who, himself, had butted heads with Ena on more than one occasion, wanting to see her be thrown out of the vestry himself for her sojourns to the Rovers) broke up the screaming match by announcing that a nearby mission, Bull Street Mission, would be the one closing, necessitating the need of twenty more souls being looked after at Glad Tidings and Ena's vestry was saved. Elsie ended the fight by saying to Ena, "So, you're me landlord, eh? Well, you're gonna pay for that window!" Over the many years of the show's existence, fights/slanging matches on the street were always a given. The show also had a well-defined sense of comedy at times, due to some of the characters being comedy relief. Despite that, it was also known for having some very huge cliffhanger disasters, most notably two tram/viaduct accidents which caused a myriad of death and destruction. The starting characters The premiere episode featured the introduction of most of the characters on the Street. In the first scene, we meet Florrie Lindley (Betty Alberge), a widow woman from nearby Esmeralda Street, who had just taken over the Corner Shop at Number 15 from one Elsie Lappin (Maudie Edwards), also a widow. Elsie (nee Castleway), who had run it for many years, was retiring from shop-keeping and moving to a cul-de-sac named Knott's End. She, however, would stay on for two days and help Florrie, a former barmaid at the nearby Farrier's Arms pub, get used to the street and her new environment. Elsie helped her through her first trials and to point out certain residents she should have to watch out for. While Florrie didn't raise too much ruckus, she had her share of trials (including a harrowing and disturbing emotional breakdown which she threw a tin of vegetables through the Corner Shop window and she broke down in tears); including running afoul of Ena because of her having a record, due to her selling a firelighter after a certain time, when the shop should have been closed (the malicious Ena spread gossip about things like that all the time). Florrie would eventually leave the street, moving back with her estranged husband, Norman Lindley, who had worked overseas, to Canada. Also introduced were the Tanners, who lived two doors down from the Corner Shop in Number 11. Living with Elsie were her two grown children, Dennis, a somewhat charming crook, and married daughter, Linda, along with her husband, Ivan Cheveski (Ernst Walder) (Linda would give birth to a son named Paul and would later have another child, Martin). At first, Linda was bent on divorcing Ivan, the two of them rowing about a situation during a street outing in Llandudno (in Wales), but after a time, they grew even more closer and their marriage was saved. After a time of living next door to Elsie, they moved to Canada. In the 80's Linda returned, sans Ivan, whom she finally divorced, to sell Number 11 to Bill Webster. She tried to get together with him, but he turned her down, a dejected Linda left Weatherfield for good soon after. Many years later, it was revealed that current resident Eileen Grimshaw (Sue Cleaver) was related to Elsie, as her grandfather was Elsie's cousin. Eileen also had a sister named Julie Carp (Katy Cavanaugh), a very nice lady who was also a machinist at Underworld. Also, Dennis made a return (after an absence of nearly 40 years) to briefly marry Rita Sullivan and after they split up and divorce, he left Weatherfield, this time for good and all. Annie and Jack Walker (Doris Speed and Arthur Leslie), the original landlords of the Rovers Return (at the opposite end of the Street, near its corner of Rosamund Street). Annie was a Beaumont from Clitheroe, and she could be rather uppish and posh, but she was a nice lady nonetheless, Jack was a dyed-in-the-wool Northerner who understood his punters. They had two children, Joan, who married a man named Gordon Davies, who was a teacher, early in the show's run and moved to Derby with him, and Billy, who was alternately the joy and bane of his mother, especially after Jack's tragic death in Derby, when he was visiting Joan and her family. Bus driver/inspector, Harry Hewitt (Ivan Beavis) and his wayward daughter, Lucille (Jennifer Moss) also figured prominently in the early years. During the early years, he would meet barmaid Concepta Riley (Doreen Keogh), and they would eventually marry and have a child of their own, Christopher. Harry, who would later die after being crushed to death by a car, was mates with Len Fairclough (Peter Adamson), a street resident who had a very hair-trigger temper, and a noticeable crush on Elsie Tanner, although he would much later wed Rita Littlewood, and cheat on her mercilessly. The late actress Jennifer Moss would do two voice-over parts in the first two episodes (one was a neighborhood girl, Christine Farrar, who insulted Elsie after knocking over her dustbin; the other was that of Sandra Hatton, the injured granddaughter of Martha Longhurst) to get her used to the rigors of Live TV, and would be cast as Lucille in the fourth episode. She would play the role until 1974, when she was sacked from the show for drunkenness. The aforementioned Kenneth Barlow and his family, his blue-collar parents Postal worker, Frank and hotel kitchen worker, Ida (Frank Pemberton; Noel Dyson), and brother, David (Alan Rothwell), an apprentice engineer. Ena, Martha and Minnie always sitting in the snug and commenting on the comings, goings and real or rumored proceedings among the denizens of the street. As stated above, Martha would be the second death on the Street, when she passed away due to a heart attack in the Rovers' snug on the night before she would leave the Street, and also during Frank's explosive farewell do. Martha would always talk (sometimes to the point of being incessant) about her daughter, Lily and her husband Wilf Hatton, they had two daughters, one of whom, Sandra, was watched by her gran (the other daughter was named Pauline). Lily and Wilf would make their one and only appearance on the show for Martha's funeral. Lily also received a thorough verbal tongue-lashing from Ena, for the way she pretended to be upset about her mother dying, before they quit the Street for good. Esther Hayes (Daphne Oxenford), a spinster woman who lived in Number 5 and was the one always offering advice to everyone; Concepta Riley (Doreen Keogh), a sweet-natured Irish barmaid at the Rovers who would later marry Harry Hewitt and give Lucille, a tough skinned girl (which masked her true loneliness and fear) who had been in a orphanage, a true mother figure (Concepta gave birth to the first baby in the Street, Christopher Hewitt); after her husband's death, Concepta would take Lucille and Christopher back to her home land of Ireland, where they lived happily; and Christine Hardman, later Appleby (Christine Hargreaves), a woman whose mother, May (Joan Heath), was in hospital (May would eventually die of a brain tumor, making her the first death on the show). Also seen occasionally was Albert Tatlock (Jack Howarth), a widowed man who lived alone next door to the Barlows and was considered a close friend of that family. He would eventually sell his home to Ken, who would be first married to his niece, Valerie Tatlock (the twins' mother), aggravating his daughter, Beattie, who was a right selfish cow. She fought with Ken and her father over the house, but she lost and was driven out of the street. Other denizens Over the years, many characters came and went, but in over 59 years of shows, naming everyone who had come and gone would be far way too numerous to mention. Some however, stand out. One of the mainstays was the comedic Ogden family, layabout Stan Ogden (Bernard Youens); his gossipy wife, Hilda (Jean Alexander) and their children, Trevor and Irma. The good-natured and humorous Irma would marry David Barlow (and would be widowed by him after the death of him and their child in a car accident in Australia). Stan and Hilda were the street's best loved double-act, sharing both dramatic and comedic stories, until he would die in 1984 (due to the real-life death of Bernard Youens, who played him). Stan's death would allow Jean Alexander's formidable talents for drama to shine through as she mourned him by sobbing as she held his familiar glasses. Another good-time character was Bet Lynch (Julie Goodyear), a former factory girl (who made her first appearance in 1966) and would become a long-time mainstay of the Rovers, eventually becoming the landlady. Bet was a nice woman, who could get angry if someone she cared about was hurt. One of her nastier explosions was against one Tanya Pooley, who had insulted Raquel, one of her barmaids. She was also known for her compassionate nature, always known for her being able to cheer up her friends (one example was telling Raquel to "dry those eyes; powder up that button nose, and I'll be back") She added a wink helping calm Raquel. She then drew herself up regally and wrathfully sacked Tanya and told her never to show her "evil little face" in her pub EVER again! Tanya left soon after. She would eventually leave Weatherfield after a row with former friend, Rita Sullivan, and they would never be close again. After throwing everyone out of the pub, she hailed a cab, and left town for good. Also seen frequently was Betty Williams (Betty Driver), a long-time barmaid who was also known and respected for her cooking of Betty's Hotpots (a Rovers specialty, which became a real-life success in the UK), which she began in 1971, and still continues to this day, even after Betty passed away. At Betty's retirement do, Bet would make a surprise guest appearance and be on hand to wish Betty well. Bet and Betty were close as mother and daughter, and they always worked well together. Despite her situations, Bet was still very much beloved (Rita not withstanding). One of the current matriarchs of the street, Gail Potter Rodwell, (Helen Worth) came into the street as a teenager, working as a junior secretary in 1974. She quit that job and later worked in the street's café, then she would work as an assistant to Elsie Tanner, and was married many times with many children by different fathers. Gail and another character, Steve McDonald (Simon Gregson), are the most married people currently on the show, both of them having been wed six times. Her flighty mother, Audrey Roberts (Sue Nicholls), was the same way, although she married councilman, Alf Roberts (Bryan Moseley) and became more of a stable character. Gail's first marriage was to hunky mechanic, Brian Tilsley (Christopher Quinten), which often led to all-out war with her domineering mother in-law, Ivy Tilsley (Lynne Perrie). It was clear that Ivy and Gail were not destined to be friends due to numerous things, including religion (the Tilsleys were Catholic, and Gail only converted to Catholicism to marry Brian). Bert Tilsley, Ivy's dominated husband, grew to love Gail. Brian and Gail are the parents of their eldest son, Nicky and a daughter named Sarah-Louise. Sarah-Lou, as she was sometimes called, would also give birth to a child out of wedlock, giving birth to her daughter, Bethany, She would later have sons, Billy and Harry). After Brian was stabbed to death outside a nightclub, Gail and Ivy engaged in another all-out war over who would raise Nicky and Sarah-Louise and what name they would have. Ivy was remarried to conniving taxi-cab driver, Don Brennan, and schemed to destroy Gail's marriage to Martin Platt (whom she scorned as a toy boy), throw a wrench into their plans to have Martin adopt Nicky and Sarah-Louise (because she felt that it would erase the memory of her son from their lives) and even went so far as to change her will leaving her entire estate to Nicky, provided he kept his last name as Tilsley. For a while, he was called Nick Platt, but when he was older and upon Ivy's death, he would retain his original last name, which he goes by to this day. Her later marriages included Martin (whom she married after Brian was murdered and who adopted Nicky and Sarah-Louise); her worst marriage was to the vicious Richard Hillman (who literally tried to drown his family in the Weatherfield Canal). Later marriages to Joe McIntyre (who died, and would land her inside, and at the mercy of twisted Tracy Barlow) and Michael Rodwell would also implode for sundry reasons. Currently, Gail isn't involved romantically with anyone, having returned from a journey to Thailand and changing her own life after a period of reflection and reexamining her life. She would later have other children, including troubled (and troublemaking) David Platt (her son by Martin). She would also be gran to not just Bethany, Billy and Harry, but also to adopted grandkids, Max Turner and Lily. Also involved in the day-to-day living of Weatherfield is the loud-mouthed and at times rather comedic Battersby bunch. At first, Les Battersby (Bruce Jones), a layabout in the grand tradition of Stan Ogden, had been married to one Janice Battersby, born Janice Lee, (Vicky Entwistle), and would have a daughter with him, Toyah (actually, Toyah's father was another man, but Les raised her as his own); also living with them was her stepdaughter, Leanne (Jane Danson); Leanne's mother was supposedly Les' first wife, Babs. However, it was later revealed that Leanne's real mother was Stella Price (Michelle Collins), and that gained her a supportive mother figure, plus a new sister, Eva, (who also loved Leanne's other sister, Toyah), and Leanne's off-the-wall grandmother, Gloria (played by Sue Johnston), who was Stella's mother. The Prices would also take to Leanne's stepsister, Toyah Battersby, and consider her part of the family. Janice, a loud-mouthed woman yet lived life with zest and joy, would try to get back together with Les, but it would fail at the hands of scheming Cilla Brown (Wendi Peters), whom Les (Janice had thought of him as a stupid idiot) would eventually marry. Janice and Cilla would have many hilarious spats, verbal and physical, on the street and all over the place. What made things even more funny was that Janice was a close mate of Cilla's own daughter, Fiz Brown (Jennie McAlpine) who would marry troublemaker John Stape (Graeme Hawley). (Fiz and Janice worked at Underworld together) Fiz tended to be closer to Janice than her own mother. In fact, Janice once threatened to thump Cilla for all the terrible things she did to Fiz (her real name was Fiona, but often went by Fiz). In some ways, Leanne was a bit closer to Cilla, who would often scream while watching the continual fights on the street "Scrappin' in the street?! You'll lower the tone!" or "Scrappin' at night? You'll lower 'ouse prices!" Despite the continual spats, there was no worry about the street's property values being lowered. Leanne's love life was quite storied. She was first married to Nick Tilsley (having gotten married when they were teenagers at Gretna Green); she was then married to Peter Barlow (with whom she had a son, Simon); then after an affair with Steve McDonald (which aggravated her former sister-in-law, Tracy), she would produce another son named Oliver. Leanne would also incur the wrath of Carla Connor and her sister, Michelle, as they would variously fight over the other's men. Despite having once confronted him, Janice does have a soft spot for Cilla's son, Chesney (Sam Aston), especially since Cilla tends to ignore her son to the point where it angers her. It was clear that Cilla wasn't a good mother at all. As a matter of fact, in a special episode which was shot in South Africa, she was so horrible that the entire nation considered her to be the world's worst mother! Chesney grew up and is currently married to Gemma Winter, and is the father of Quadruplets. Gemma is also doing her best to help her brother, Paul, a friend of David Platt's, deal with the trauma of sexual abuse after being molested by a man named Kel Henchley. Gemma and their mother, Bernie, would do anything possible to help protect Paul against the duplicitous molester, who, despite the hard evidence against him, still lies that Paul wanted it, and continually victimizes him. This behavior by Kel has earned him, rather deservedly, enmity with Gemma, Bernie, Chesney and Paul's boyfriend, Billy, who happens to be Weatherfield's vicar. Tracy, the undisputed villain of the Street. Ken, who was, by this point, the Elder Statesman of the Street (having outlasted the big three, Elsie, Ena and Annie; all three left the show in the 1980s), would be married many times over the years, but his longest-lasting marriage (they married in 1981), and the love of his life, was to Deirdre Hunt, formerly Deirdre Langton, (Anne Kirkbride), the mother of the incorrigible Tracy Barlow (played as an adult by Kate Ford), who would become the show's most memorable and most hated villain. Ken married her after his first two marriages were destroyed, He was originally married to Valerie Tatlock (Anne Reid), and he had two children with her, Peter and Susan (Valerie died due to electrocution; while Susan, his daughter, would die in a car crash, after she introduced her son, Adam, to his grandfather; Peter would be in his life in and out); his second wife was a woman named Janet Reid, who would kill herself after he refused to have her come back into his life (she scorned being a stepmother to the twins, and were subsequently sent to live with Val's mother in Scotland). They would later remarry in 2005 (Deirdre would marry another man, Samir Rachid in 1994 {whom she would marry to help him become a citizen, but he was still deported} who passed away due to a medical ailment), and would remain married until Deirdre's death in 2014. The scheming Tracy, who was alternately both the joy and the bane of her mother's existence, had been adopted by Ken after he married Deirdre (Tracy's original last name was Langton as her father was the late and unlamented Ray Langton, which is perhaps where she gets her savage mean streak) would have a daughter named Amy (Elle Mulvaney), her father would be Steve McDonald (Simon Gregson), the son of later Rovers landlady, Liz McDonald (Beverly Callard). Steve and Tracy had a one night stand and that night they conceived Amy. She was also pregnant with twins, but she had a miscarriage. Steve would be married to Underworld machinist Karen Phillips (Suranne Jones), who hated Tracy (and pretty much everyone else for that matter as she also fought Janice Battersby a few times) and resented that she could give him a child while she was spitefully called Barren Karen by a gloating Tracy. Karen had a miscarriage and it totally unhinged her. She took Baby Amy to make her enemy feel what it was like to lose her child, which angered Steve and would eventually (along with other factors) destroy his marriage to the mad Karen. Karen set fire to the car, and blew it up, which set Tracy off, thinking Amy is in the car. During one Christmas, a beyond furious Tracy aimed to take Karen out with a cross-lock for what she had done to Amy. Cornering her on the roof of Underworld, Tracy was intent on killing her enemy right then and there. However, it was later revealed that Amy had been safe with Café owners, Roy and Hayley Cropper (Hayley, the first ever transgendered character in UK soap history was played very ably by the talented Julie Hesmondhalgh). After a completely vicious row with Steve (which saw her smashing up the flat in a temper tantrum), the now-defeated Karen would leave the Street after her failed attempt to get even with Tracy. Nobody was sorry to see her go, especially Steve and his mother, Liz (who had no liking for Karen herself and even once called her a gold-digger due to her incessant habit of sleeping around with wealthy men). Not long after that divorce, he would marry a woman named Becky Granger (Katherine Kelly). She had no love for Tracy either, as it turned out. She would adopt her troublemaking sister, Kylie's son, Max (having bought him), and would become a loving mother figure to Amy (which occurred while Tracy had been in prison), which angered the evil Ms. Barlow. Several of their fights were quite ferocious; in fact, they were far worse than Tracy's fights with Karen, and one particularly nasty one led to Becky busting into the Barlow home, wielding a sledgehammer to break the door down and nearly destroying everything in her path until Steve talked her down. Tracy would eventually marry Steve (twice), but she would clobber her new husband when he was revealed to have had an affair with her former sister in-law Leanne, who was the mother of her nephew, Simon. This lead to yet ANOTHER wedding fight where Tracy and Leanne destroyed a wedding cake and destroy one another. Another affair Steve had would produce a daughter named Emma (who bonded beautifully with Amy, and they consider one another sisters). Tracy was also known for her quite deadly murderous tendencies, having killed a former boyfriend, Charlie Stubbs, with a blunt object, which saw her sent into prison for it. However, after three years, the forensic evidence was found discredited, and a shocked Tracy was released from prison. After a retrial, she was eventually found innocent. She shocked the whole street by returning while everyone was gathered at a memorial site following the tragic Metro-Link tram crash that destroyed the Kabin and the Corner Shop, and killed Molly Dobbs and Ashley Peacock among several others, and injuring Rita Sullivan What happened was during a stag party for Peter Barlow (who was engaged to be married to Leanne), a gas explosion destroyed the Joinery Wine Bar, where the celebration was occurring, it damaged the Viaduct and the train tracks above it, causing an out of service Metro-Link tram to derail and crash off the viaduct, destroying the Corner Shop and another tram would crash into the Kabin, killing Molly and Ashley, as well as a taxi driver, injuring Peter, and Rita. Peter and Leanne would eventually marry in the emergency room, but he would have a cardiac arrest. He would recover from it and married Leanne nonetheless. (This episode was played out live on December 6th, 2010, in honor of the show's 50th anniversary) Another character, Charlotte Hoyle, while not having been a victim of the tram disaster, was also killed, by a hit on the head with a hammer by John Stape, who he felt was stalking him. He would later take the identity of her partner and tried to pass it off as fiction, when much later on, all was revealed, and John was taken away for identity theft and fraud as well as murder. No sooner had she returned, though, when Tracy would begin to do what she always did best. Antagonize everyone. She would taunt Gail McIntyre (whose perjured testimony at HER murder trial would sent Gail into prison for three weeks) into a fight and was flung out of the Rovers by an angry Becky. The next day (Christmas to be precise), Tracy would just plain take Amy from Steve and Becky, leading up to a major fight between the two. However, because Steve wouldn't fight for Amy, Tracy got her own way (he kowtowed to her far too many times, which made Becky even angrier at Steve). A saddened Amy just wanted to go home (to her, her home was with her Daddy and Becky), and Becky, overhearing her talking to her granddad's dog, Eccles, came in the back, and, taking the sad little girl in her arms, took her back to her home. Tracy, furious, demands that her daughter be returned without delay. Amy, distraught, locked the living room door to keep them all out. Amy was finally coaxed out by Becky who would make her some Eggy Bread (French Toast, as it's called in the US); Tracy would still antagonize Becky and taunted her that she had lost Amy for good, and it would be a shame if she had lost Max (given that she knew that she and Steve had bought Max for 14,000 quid off her half-sister Kylie). Tracy's smugness finally drove Becky quite mad and she took up a sledgehammer and proceeded to destroy Number One Coronation Street, with the intent of killing Tracy once and for all, for all her crimes. Then it was revealed that it had been Steve himself who called Social Services about Max. Becky was furious with Steve and left him for a time. During the New Years Eve celebration, she was basically antagonizing everyone on the street, insulting pretty much everyone, most especially her arch-enemy Gail, Becky (just because) and the recently widowed Claire Peacock (her husband was one of those killed in the Tram tragedy). To really stick it to Gail, Tracy seduced both of her sons, Nick Tilsley and David Platt! This not only antagonized Gail, but she also angered Nick and David towards her. She would also then insult Sean Tully and Eileen Grimshaw. Tracy would derogatorily call Sean "gay boy"; while criticizing Eileen's new outfit. She would also aggravate Mary Taylor by insulting her knickers and calling her a freak. Steve, the father of Amy (later revealed to have had another daughter, Emma, as well as being the father of Oliver, Leanne Battersby's son), grabs Tracy harshly and warns her to stop making enemies, but the headstrong Tracy didn't listen, even boasting that after she had hacked off everyone in the street, she was going to disappear and take Amy with her. Well! Steve wasn't going to take that one off of her. After returning to her home, after her spree of insulting and winding everyone up at the Rovers, (and quite proud of her misbehavior) Tracy answers the back door only to be found knocked out on the back sidewalk with her head bleeding. After her other arch-enemy Becky was arrested, the police thinking she had been the one who did this, it was later revealed that Claire Peacock, furious at the way Tracy was insulting her, mocking the loss of Ashley and her continual digging at her, was the one who attacked her. Claire admitted to Becky that it was her who had clobbered Tracy. With the aid of most of the street, who were pleased that Claire had finally stood up to the bully Tracy, helped her get passports for her and her two sons, and she left Weatherfield for good. This angered the vengeful Tracy, but there was nothing she could do about it. Claire got away with knocking Tracy out. Tracy was often considered (and well-deservedly too) the most hated person on the street because of her propensity to stir up trouble and make enemies. She was so hated that even her own godmother, Emily Bishop, would cross on the other side of the street to avoid her! In an area where feuds are common, there is one person that everyone, regardless of their ties, would be united on with despising, and that someone was Tracy! Even her adopted brother, Peter, feared deeply for Amy in how she could become like her mother, but he hoped that Amy, who was a very astute young lady, would definitely wise up to her, and despise her as she deserved! Much later, Amy would gain an ally in her new-found half sister, Emma Brooker, who was Steve's daughter, from his affair with hairdresser, Fiona Middleton. Amy and Emma bonded as sisters, and they have become inseparable. On a happier note, in 2019, Ken celebrated his 80th birthday, although it was tempered by the news that his new daughter in-law, Sinead Tinker Osbourne, who was married to his son, Daniel, had terminal cancer and would soon die. He spoke a very moving tribute to her and, with his old friend, Liz McDonald, sitting silently, would burst into tears at the thought of a lovely young woman dying in her prime. However, Ken, with the aid of his family, would pick up the pieces and be there to help Daniel to cope. Even Tracy, still troublesome, would put aside her revenge to help Daniel and, even MORE surprisingly, stick up for Sinead (whom she mocked at her wedding) by berating Bethany Platt, for even being with her brother. The AA meeting demolition derby! Meanwhile, Deirdre and her widowed mother, Blanche (Maggie Jones) supplied a lot of the show's comedic humor especially in the later years. Blanche, especially, was known for her sharp-tongue, acidic comments and her highly combative nature. Not to mention her opinions on absolutely everything, whether they were accurate or not. The actress, Maggie Jones, who played her, won an award for best comedy performance, although she herself stated that she hadn't intended for Blanche to be funny, but funny she was. One of her famous spiels was her slagging off on real-life UK children's show, Postman Pat in front of her great grandson, Simon Barlow (Alex Bain). Ken was appalled by her insults, but little Simon only found his "Granny Blanche" and her nasty opinions highly amusing and giggled at her observations! Blanche, uncharacteristically for her, had a noticeable and genuine fondness for little Simon. Simon was the only one who would be allowed to call her "Granny Blanche". Others have also felt the sharp edge of Blanche's tongue, most notably Audrey Roberts; her granddaughter, Sarah-Louise (in which one of her mates would call Blanche an old bag!); Rita, and Becky. In one classic episode, Blanche's step-grandson, Peter, was attending an AA meeting, and his family decided to attend it with him, ostensibly to offer him support. Tensions had been flaring, as Deirdre had lost her job, Ken was trying to be compassionate, but Deirdre wouldn't have any of it, and Blanche was, to be frank, just being her usual surly and ill-tempered self! To Peter's sheer embarrassment, Deirdre and Blanche effectively (and hilariously) turned the meeting into a complete shambles! This was no thanks to Ken and Deirdre's steady stream of arguing and the airing of their dirty linen in public and Blanche's trademark nasty and very inappropriate remarks towards the other attendees (one of her classic lines was "Well, I don't like your halitosis!" '' which was aimed at a poor girl named Melanie). After his parents and his grandmother leave the meeting (with Ken offering a sincere apology to the group for Deirdre and Blanche's horrid lack of manners), a despondent Peter says to his group, ''"Now, do you see what I am up against?!" Equally nasty Evelyn....Blanche's spiritual successor! When Maggie Jones died, for a long time, there wasn't a battle-axe character around to rattle off nasty barbs...until the recent entrance of Evelyn Plummer (Maureen Lipman), the grandmother of mechanic Tyrone Dobbs. She brought back the tried-and-true "woman with her withering tongue" type that had been missing when Blanche passed away. Evelyn is more crooked, more sharp-tongued, and equally as hilarious as Blanche had been in her prime. Corrie's longevity In December of 2020, the show, the UK's longest running TV soap, will celebrate its 60th anniversary. In a lot of ways, Corrie has become a part of the British way of life in so many ways and in a lot of ways is almost a part of the UK itself. In 2003, British author Katherine Hardy wrote Coronation Street: The Epic Novel, which focused on storylines from the show's first four decades in existence, stemming from 1960-2000. It was later released as Coronation Street; The Complete Saga, which included two additional chapters written by Geoff Tibball, dealing with the reign of terror which Richard Hillman terrorized Gail Platt and her family. Originally, the name of the show was slated to be Florizel Street, but was rejected for the current name, Coronation Street. Along with its five day a week showings on ITV in the UK (two episodes separated by a half-hour), Corrie was shown at various times in the US, mainly on the USA cable network in 1982, and is still shown to this day on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation network in Canada, mainly in areas in the Northern US, where CBC reception can be picked up very well. Original Cast (from the first five episodes) *PATRICIA PHOENIX --- Elsie Grimshaw Tanner --- A single mother (She was separated from her husband Arnold, whom she would eventually divorce) who worked at a frock shop called Miami Modes, and was always worrying about what her adult children were doing. Quite easily provoked with a hair-trigger temper, and can lash out at anyone with her sharp tongue or a well placed slap in the face. She was always proud of never doing anything by halves. Prime target of Ena Sharples' gossiping tongue and has actually had more than a few infamous slanging matches with her. (She gave back to Ena as good as she got) One of the original "Get off my Lawn!" ladies, she was extremely notorious for chasing generations of children out of her back end yard and confiscating their footballs (even one time hitting a child for telling her to "Get Stuffed, you old bag!"). She would eventually leave the street in 1984 to move to Portugal to help run a wine bar, but was later revealed that she and Bill Gregory, her true love whom she eventually married, were both killed in a car accident. *PHILIP LOWRIE --- Dennis Tanner --- Elsie's recently released from prison younger son, who aggravates not only his mother, but also his sister. Though his temper is less volatile than his mother's, it has been known to come up, especially when she continually nags at him. A very lazy and somewhat indolent person, he is often nagged by his family to improve his lot (and by extension, theirs). Eventually he gets a job (at a local club in Manchester) after his mother's constant haranguing. Continually scraps with his older sister. He would leave in 1968, marrying a woman named Jenny Sutton and would then divorce after he went into prison again. He returns 43 years later, still a bit of a rogue, who married his former girlfriend, Rita Sullivan, until they divorced and he finally left Weatherfield for good and all. *ANNE CUNNINGHAM --- Linda Tanner Cheveski --- Married eldest daughter of Elsie and Arnold Tanner. Has her own marital issues with her husband, Ivan Cheveski. Eventually they patch things up and make a go of their marriage after the revelation she's going to have a child. Mother of Paul and Martin (who had stayed with his grandmother for a time) She, like her mother, harangues Dennis to get work. Linda would return to help sell Number 11 to Bill Webster, divorced from Ivan, and hoping to become part of Bill's life, but he refuses her and she leaves Weatherfield for good. *ERNST WALDER --- Ivan Cheveski --- Linda's Polish born husband. Tries to see both sides of the argument, and is considered the peacemaker of the Tanner Family. Would eventually get a job at the Rovers. At first, their marriage was on the brink of destruction (due to some brutal and complete misunderstandings about a chariot trip to Llandudno), but they would patch things up and become very happy. However, after many years and two sons, Paul and Martin, Ivan and Linda would finally divorce in 1984. *FRANK PEMBERTON --- Frank Barlow --- A postal worker who often belittles his son, Ken, for his supposed "snobbishness", although later on, he HIMSELF becomes the same kind of (and a yet even bigger) snob he accused his sons of becoming, when he wins the Premium bonds, and buys a new house in Bramhall, away from the street. After practically insulting everyone in the Rovers, he provoked a huge brawl. During said brawl, Martha Longhurst passed away in the snug. *NOEL DYSON --- Ida Leathers Barlow --- The peacemaker of the Barlow family, always trying to keep Frank from clashing with Ken, with mixed results. She smothers, and sometimes babies Ken a bit, a kitchen worker at the Imperial Hotel, one of the grandest hotels in Manchester, she is killed when she is hit by a bus. *WILLIAM ROACHE --- Ken Barlow --- The oldest son of Frank and Irma. Currently the oldest living resident on the street. Always trying to escape his upbringing (or so it was thought), but he has since become a part of the changes to the street and has learned to live with them. A staunch pacifist, he was also extremely liberal. Had a somewhat kinship with Annie Walker, as they were both quite intellectual and were always on the same page on issues. Was quite a womanizer in his day, married four times, and has kids with several women. Father of Peter; Susan (deceased); Daniel and Tracy (adopted). Grandfather of Simon, Amy, Adam and Bertie. Currently dating hairdresser Claudia Colby and recently celebrated his 80th birthday, and eulogized his daughter in-law, Sinead with a very moving tribute at his birthday party and shed tears for her death. On the series 10,000th episode, Ken and Claudia finally decide that it's time he left the street, and is moving to a new luxury retirement community in another part of Weatherfield. *ALAN ROTHWELL --- David Barlow --- Apprentice mechanic who became a professional football player in London. Ken's younger brother. He would return to the street, marry Irma Ogden and move to Australia, where he and his son were killed in a motor accident. *MAUDIE EDWARDS --- Elsie Castleway Lappin --- The original owner of the Corner Shop. Twice widowed with two daughters, Hilda and Shelagh, she helps Florrie to get into the way of handling the shop business, and to warn her about certain residents of the street. *BETTY ALBERGE --- Florence Lena "Florrie" Lindley --- A shy retiring former barmaid (at the Farrier's Arms) who took over the Corner Shop from Elsie Lappin, and ran it rather well, despite her crippling loneliness which caused her to have an especially heartbreaking emotional breakdown. She would eventually leave the Street with her estranged husband, Norman, to emigrate to Canada. Ran afoul of the authorities when she didn't know she couldn't sell after seven pm. She was fined only one quid for it. *VIOLET CARSON --- Ena Schofield Sharples --- The oldest resident of the street at that time. A caretaker at the Glad Tidings Mission Hall (across the street from the Corner Shop, where the Kabin is now), she lived there rent free in exchange for her caretaking duties. She would tend to pass herself off as a pious woman, overflowing with morality (to her credit, underneath her armored outside, beat a good heart and a soul who was loyal to the people she cared about), but more often as not, she was a nasty, vindictive and spiteful gossip who would talk about and slander people, whether friend or stranger, for often petty reasons. At times, she moans that everyone is picking on her and nobody wants her around because she was old (especially when she was caught out in her slandering and gossiping). Her most frequent adversary (and her arch-enemy) was Elsie Tanner, with whom she's had two infamous spats in the street with. Best friends and cronies with Minnie Caldwell and Martha Longhurst. She often crossed swords with Mr. Swindley, the Committee chairman, over her going to the Rovers Return. *ARTHUR LOWE --- Mr. Leonard Swindley --- The Chairman of the Committee of the Glad Tidings Mission Hall (as well as overseer of some of the other mission halls in the area). He was the target of a crush by his assistant Emily Nugent, but would not marry her. He and Ena Sharples would continually battle and bicker about her going to the Rovers Return and would often threaten to have her sacked and moved out of her vestry, in order to put someone more to his and the committee's liking in her place. He actually stopped a raucous street row between Ena and Elsie over the former's attempt to steal the latter's house. *EILEEN DERBYSHIRE --- Miss Emily Nugent --- The associate of Mr. Swindley at the Mission Hall Committee. Making her first appearance in the fourth episode, she would first appear in an uncredited non-speaking role (originally called simply Miss Nugent, but would later receive the name of Emily), but would later be a long time stalwart until Ms. Derbyshire retired. She would later marry Ernest Bishop (she is best remembered as Emily Bishop), and wouldn't remarry after his savage murder. She would become enamored of divorced boarder, Norris Cole, and they would leave Weatherfield together. *HARRY BEAVIS --- Harry Hewitt --- A Manchester City bus driver, later promoted to Bus Inspector. Widowed by the death of his wife, Lizzie, he would make the grievous mistake of putting his daughter, Lucille, into an orphan's home. He would eventually marry Irish Concepta Riley, until he was killed when a jack under a car he was working on collapsed and killed him. *JENNIFER MOSS --- Lucille Hewitt --- Mischievous daughter of Harry. Put into an Orphan's home by her bereaved father after the death of her mother, Lucille runs away and moves back in with him. Although having a tough exterior, she's more vulnerable than she looks, due to the loss of her mother. She changes a lot when she gets on well with Concepta and considers her a motherly figure. Lived with Jack and Annie Walker as their ward (She called her "Auntie Annie') for a time until she moved to Ireland with Concepta. *CHRISTINE HARGREAVES --- Christine Hardman --- A factory worker (she worked at Ellison's Raincoat Factory) who had to contend with the madness of her mother, as well as her constant moaning all the time. She was dating a man named Malcolm Wilkinson, but after her mother's death, he couldn't be bothered to help her through her grief and broke up with her, to the anger of most of the Street's residents. She would later have her own mental health issues, and would attempt suicide (this was stopped by Ken), she would later marry Colin Appleby, and after divorcing him, would leave the street for good and all. *JOAN HEATH --- May Mason Hardman --- Christine's mother, who had gone mad prior to the premiere and was in hospital after a nervous collapse (brought on by the death of her husband, Christine's father, and the loss of his business and a nice home on Abingdon Road in the posh suburb of Oakhill). She would be a trial to her working daughter, by moaning all the time, until she passed away due to a brain tumor on New Years Eve 1960. *LYNNE CAROL --- Martha Hartley Longhurst --- A pensioner who had a tendency to spout off about the wisdom of her daughter's husband, Wilf (who worked nights to earn high wages so his family could live well). She was always talking about her daughter, Lily and her family, close friends with Ena and Minnie, although she and Ena can get into a few spats (one notable one was where Martha substituted for Ena as caretaker until the former, against medical advice, marched back in and forcibly took her role back, stating firmly, "I'M back!"). She would be the second death on the street when she passed away due to a heart attack in 1964 in the Rover's snug. Lily (played by Stephanie Bidmead) and Wilf (played by Henry Livings) would come to Weatherfield for the funeral and they would be shredded by Ena. They would never return to the street after that. *MARGOT BRYANT --- Minnie Carlton Caldwell --- Timid and shy third of the trio that included Martha and Ena. She would always be talking about her cat, Bobby. A widow (her husband was named Armisted), she wouldn't say much, but she would cry at weddings. Although quite timid, she was able to stand up at times for herself to her more formidable friends, Ena and Martha. *DOREEN KEOGH --- Concepta Riley Hewitt --- A barmaid at the Rovers Return introduced in the fifth episode. An Irish girl, she became enamored of Harry Hewitt and they would marry to the delight of everyone. Swiftly widowed when Harry was killed when a van crushed him, she took to mothering Lucille easily even while she had her own child with Harry, Christopher. They would all later move to Ireland. *DAPHNE OXENFORD --- Esther Hayes --- A lovely spinster woman who served as the strong shoulder folks could turn to for advice. She was always willing to help out in a pinch. She worked at the Raincoat factory, and has strong opinions of folk who are always being nosy about others business. Although she would never enter the Rover's, since she was a teetotaler, she was always kind and caring to those who needed her help. *ARTHUR LESLIE --- Jack Walker --- The original licensee of the Rovers Return. Married to the often imperious Annie, and father to Billy and Joan. Unlike his haughty wife, he is a Northerner and understands the people far better than she does (or claims that she does). Sadly, he passed away in 1970 whilst visiting Joan and Gordon in Derby. *DORIS SPEED --- Annie Beaumont Walker --- Wife of Jack, mother of Billy and Joan. A somewhat snobby, but quite lovable woman who often sees herself as intellectually superior to most of her punters. She has a solid and undisguised kinship with Ken Barlow, as he feels somewhat the same way she does and respects his high intelligence. She does have a kind heart underneath, as she always thought very highly of Lucille Hewitt. She would retire from owning the Rovers, intending for her son to take over, but it would later go to Bet Lynch. It was later revealed after the death of Betty Turpin, that Annie had intended for the pub to be willed to Betty. *JACK HOWARTH --- Albert Tatlock --- The next door neighbor to the Barlows and Ken's friend. He seems to understand him far better than his father. The uncle of Valerie (whom Ken later married). He had a daughter named Beattie Pearson, who was prone to be quite selfish (She raged at her father when he sold his home to Ken, and accused him of robbing her of her entitlement. Albert told her off and she left Weatherfield, never to return). *PATRICIA SHAKESBY --- Susan Cunningham --- Susan was Ken's first girlfriend, who kindly but firmly put him in his place properly when she explained that she had a granddad who lived in a house similar to Ken's own. Many years later, it was revealed that Susan and Ken had a son from their liaison named Lawrence. He would become an even worse snob than his father was. Category:Shows Category:UK Soap operas